Official Luthiers Forum!

Ah, you're all very kind. I do like the tail flash, but.

I forgot to mention that the fingerboard and bridge are New Zealand Teak, more properly known as puriri that a guy I know in NZ sent me. Complements the Blackheart Sassafras beautifully when wet, so it ought to be great when finish and oil are applied.

Got the bindings on this FB and the other one glued up before leaving for work today, so another step done....

Weather is coming good for spraying. 20C and 40-50%RH today. Tough for the middle of winter.....Next week or so, and they'll be coated.....

Beth: When I lived in Mississippi, we used to call it gettin' likkered up. But, I was much younger then......

OK. Casey is officially off the christmas card list. Mr. Cochrane! Inspired by his rather wonderful pearl work, I decided to try something similar, but a signature for the 12th fret out of turquoise on the OM.

Well, after 4 hours of determined effort, I ended up with this......

The one on the left says(for those who can't make it out--like all of you) Mariann.

It may well be that the turquoise is harder to work, as all the little black fracture lines break, snap, crumble, pop, etc, etc at the first opportunity.

The other is supposed to say Jack and belongs to another guitar I'm working on.....That one was easier, as it was celluloid sheet.

Now, I dread starting the headstock inlays......Tomorrow will be soon enough to see if I can rout the pockets for the inlays.....off to work......

Looks great! Fun, isn't it?

_________________
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Well, I got the inlays in for the OM. Looks OK, but I clearly need more practice.

Oh, and, Casey, I'm seriously considering a return to dots.....

OK, nothing very exciting going on, but the fretboard for the OM is on, and tidied up. Final neck shaping is also almost done.

Everything for this one slowed down a bit to let the dread in the background catch up. The tenor is ready for fretting and final sanding, ditto the OM, and the dread tomorrow......

Hope to spray them all in a week....

I think I won't be finished. No spray yet, and too much real life still getting in the way to meet the deadline. I will post as I progress. Good luck to the finishers!

My first guitar took over a year! Please keep posting pictures and your experiences, and we'll keep following.

The other thread about these builds jogged my memory, so here's where I'm at today. The OM, along with a couple others, is sprayed and drying. The Tenor is going to be French Polished, and I'm going to start that this weekend. I hope to do a better job on that than my first...Only pic I have today is the lacquer-drying room, er....spare bathroom....Will update soon.

OK, the little tenor hasn't had any love, and isn't like;ly to get done soon, but here's the OM, sanded, polished and buffed under lacquer. Tomorrow, glue on the bridge, and then set her up in the week to come. Be nice to finish it, and hand it over to the recipient. It was a wedding gift for my wife's cousin's wife........Anyway, final shots next weekend.....

Really nice wedding present! Looking great. Don't forget to get some audio.

Looks fantastic! Really elegant. Really neat. Top looks great. Lovely back. Love the rosette!
Congrats, not long now!

Thanks guys. Got the bridge on yesterday, and today is set-up day. I like to get the strings on and let it be for an hour or two. No particular reason, but I guess if anything horrible happened in construction it may show up at this point.

She'll be done by the end of the day...

Just in time. Getting handed over on Saturday night

OK, its done.


Gonna see if I have any 2mm turquoise dots to put in the bone pins, maybe. I prefer plain pins

Will get Mariann to play a song and record it Saturday....

One more....

Beautifully executed, Nick! She'll be so amazed. That wood figure is beautiful and I like the touches of turquoise. Can't wait to hear it! Congratulations

Gorgeous! Seeing work like this really makes me think I need to buck my ideas up! What # is it for you?

Thanks Beth and Nick. Nice to see you guys are still watching.

Beth, the turquoise is because it is Mariann's favourite colour. Try as I might I didn't trun up any turquoise coloured wood. Was it you that I saw used the LMI Jasper on a recent build? I like the look of that too....

Nick, this one is #6. It started out as number three, but I ended up finishing one I had underway while sorting out humidity, then built a dread on commission and built myself a tele style before getting this one done

Got a 12-string underway on commission, and then maybe a nice little parlour for me out of cedar and Tassie Blackwood, or a solid body styled after a 70's Ibanez Musician.....

Very impressive! Hope mine are as good looking by #6!
Would have been a real contender in the challenge!

Good luck with the 12 string... Out of interest, will you be compensating each string or keeping the authentic 12 string "twanginess"?

Thanks, it was a pretty busy year. Of course, now that I have sold my shop, and find little in the way of jobs around here, tho I'm looking, I have only the 12 to build and that's been sprayed once, so not too much left.

Haven't decided about the compensation. I reckon the jangly sound of a 12 is part of what you look for, but as an excercise in luthiery, compensation may be a better idea....Got a month before I need to decide....

Great stuff and congratulations!

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something